“Atmosphere will lead you to these borders where the rhythms of Berlin School and Electronica evolve passively beneath solos and tones hesitating between now and the 70's and 80's”
1 Synthvoices 15:04 2 Under the C 5:18 3 Deep Liquid 16:45 4 Neptune 4:41 5 Sparklwaves 19:38 6 Sweetness 10:44 SynGate CD-r TM12
(CD-r/DDL 72:10) (V.F.) (Electronica & New Berlin School)
I quite like the music of TM Solver. Creative and always in search of the tone which boosts his structures, Thomas Meier knits a sound universe where the heat of the analog and the coldness of the digital merge admirably well in structures which dither between a soft kind of Electronica and New Berlin School. ATMOSPHERE is a 12th album which brings the listener to these borders where the rhythms evolve passively underneath synth solos which abound in tones hesitating between the 70's and the 80's. The sound fauna teems with effects and with layers which dilute their magnetizing charms in orchestrations and in evasive choirs. In brief, a universe full of charms which cements well our ears to our earphones!
A feminine voice in a loudspeaker asks us to join our places through a tumult of colorful electronic effects. Synthvoices takes off slowly with gaseous percussive effects and a line of bass sequence rather animated. Bordering a mid-tempo, the music skips as a kind of cosmic hip-hop on where hangs onto it a hardly audible choir and an armada of sound effects. From all around, floating layers are sniveling and sighing like a bank of nostalgic violins. The effects nibble a tempo which exploits completely its 15 minutes by going in transit in an ambient passage colored with a little more mysterious effects and layers. Two minutes farther, Synthvoices takes off again by bringing the same hypnotic structure to end its race at a station where samplings of all kinds steal its finale. ATMOSPHERE travels between its 4 long minimalist titles and its 2 shorter ones which propose more ambiospherical phases. If Under the C disposes of an impressive structure of seabed on which tinkles a melody as evasive as the ink spots from a huge octopus in a setting very representative of its title, Neptune is clearly more in the cosmic effects and ambiences. Escaping from a long procession of rippling waves, Deep Liquid spreads an ambient rhythm with sequences which dance a kind of Cha-cha-cha to which we have removed one step or two. The synth sculpts solos which wave with a concealed tone whereas some sequences get loose in order to eat from the ambiences, such as bees in search of nectar. The movement does rather contemporary with its structure which grows fat of percussions and percussive effects. The sequences accelerate gradually the pace whereas the synth solos remain rather passive with a tone which awakens memories of Klaus Schulze in his time of samplings and of digital synths. A very good title with a slow evolution and a good feast of sounds for what is coming. Sparklwaves warms the 20 minutes with an evolutionary structure which gathers the flavors of other times. The intro is of silk with anesthetic layers and ethereal soloes which sing with this analog heat. This splendid introduction of ambiences embraces brief implosions of intensity before letting escape two lines of sequences which gambol in parallel but not on the same step. Exploiting completely its 20 minutes, Sparklwaves maintains the same pace to evolve into a good cosmic Groove and down-tempo feed of soothing layers and filled of catchy percussive effects. And the solos! They bewitch our eardrums which are heavily prisoners of headphones which don't let escape a noise, an effect outside our ears. A great track which bears many shades to Sweetness and its 11 minutes which invites us to dance with a structure of rhythm closer to the territories of Electronica. A structure which grooves like a good mid-tempo filled with ambient tones. We feel the influences of Spyra here with this more contemporary vision which nevertheless leaves some space to a creative synth. Creative! A qualifier which goes very well to the charming universe of TM Solver's 1001 delights.
Sylvain Lupari (December 9th, 2017) *****
Available at SynGate Bandcamp